{"id":42453,"date":"2023-09-18T14:25:49","date_gmt":"2023-09-18T18:25:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/d56fg8tfg.fitnews.club\/finance\/ftc-warns-tax-preparation-companies-about-misuse-of-consumer-data\/"},"modified":"2023-09-18T14:25:49","modified_gmt":"2023-09-18T18:25:49","slug":"ftc-warns-tax-preparation-companies-about-misuse-of-consumer-data","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/d56fg8tfg.fitnews.club\/finance\/ftc-warns-tax-preparation-companies-about-misuse-of-consumer-data\/","title":{"rendered":"FTC Warns Tax Preparation Companies About Misuse of Consumer Data"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Federal Trade Commission is warning five tax preparation companies that they could face civil penalties if they use or disclose confidential data collected from consumers for the purpose of preparing their taxes for other unrelated purposes, such as advertising, without first obtaining consumers\u2019 consent.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cConsumers trust tax preparers with sensitive information about their finances, marital status, children, and health,\u201d said Samuel Levine, Director of the FTC\u2019s Bureau of Consumer Protection. \u201cCompanies that violate American\u2019s privacy by seeking to monetize personal data without consent can face significant financial consequences.\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The FTC is using its <\/span><\/span>penalty offense authority<\/span><\/span><\/a> <\/span><\/span><\/b>to remind tax preparation companies of the law and deter them from breaking it. By sending a\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Notice of Penalty Offenses<\/span><\/span><\/a>, the agency is warning recipients they could incur civil penalties of up to $50,120 per violation if they misuse personal data in ways that run counter to the original purpose for which this information was collected. The penalty offense authority<\/a> allows the agency to seek civil penalties against a company that engages in conduct that it knows is unlawful, and that has been found unlawful in a previous FTC administrative order, other than a consent order.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The notices sent to the tax preparation companies detail the acts and practices that were found to be a violation of the FTC Act in a previous administrative case against Beneficial Corp<\/a>. <\/b>\u00a0In that case, the FTC found that the company engaged in unfair and deceptive practices in violation of the FTC Act by using information collected for tax preparation services for unrelated loan solicitation purposes and ordered the company to halt such practices. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In the notices sent to the tax preparation companies, the FTC warned that the following practices may be deceptive or unfair under the FTC Act if companies fail to first obtain affirmative express consent from consumers:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n